Arrival director disappointed by Amy Adams' Oscars snub

The 49-year-old filmmaker was thrilled to find out he had been nominated for Best Director and the movie had received seven more nods including for Best Picture but was upset to see the 42-year-old actress didn't make the cut.

She said: "It was so strange. When they announced, at one point we were like, I think, already five nominations or something like that, so we were like popping the champagne ...

"When I saw that she was not [nominated], it was such a big disappointment, because she's the soul, she was my muse. I owe her everything for 'Arrival'. So when they announced my name, it was like a strange mix of emotion. A lot of joy and sadness at the same time. Very strange experience."

He told People magazine: "I was surprised. Certainly, if you acknowledge 'Arrival' to the extent that the Academy did, and if we all take it as an inarguable fact that Amy Adams's performance is in every frame of the film, and is pervasive throughout the soul and heart of the film, then I choose to live in the positive and simply conclude that the acknowledgement to the movie is an acknowledgement of her performance.

"The first call I got that morning was from Amy. Her sanguine graciousness, her firm pride in what we did together as a filmmaking unit, was so elegant, and gracious, and strong. So I'm aspiring to that grace."

The film's cast and crew will find out the fate of the movie when the Academy Award winners are revealed at the ceremony in Los Angeles on February 26.